Ocean's Thirteen is often described as an apology for Ocean's Twelve. They claim it's the movie they should have made, yet I think that is entirely untrue.
Soderberg came out of the 60's caper feel of Ocean's Eleven with a 70's-inspired sequel that had the feel of every European crime movie of the era. Surely, this wouldn't please every Joe Asshole in the audience, but the film was far from a failure. It got heat from people about being hard to follow and having a terrible ending, but those people are stupid, so who can really trust what they say?
So, Soderberg and Co. tried to tone down Ocean's Thirteen for the rubes, going back to the style of Ocean's Eleven and failing somewhat.
While the cast still does their typically excellent job of interacting with one another and being witty, the plot is a bit lax and there doesn't seem to be enough movie for all the people in it. After the twists and turns of past movies, Thirteen is something of a letdown, feeling barely long enough to be feature length and trying far too hard to be like the first movie instead of really capping off the series with something new and exciting.
Though don't think the movie is bad. All the elements work well; there just seems to be so little of them. It's a fun ride, but, like any thrill ride, ends quickly and leaves you wanting something more, something that will undoubtedly never come.
